The World Weavers (11 page)

“Where will the villagers go?” Master Ursa said. “They have to stay near water sources, and the
geased
guides will lead the deities right to those. The deities will find and enslave our ­people. How can we ask our warriors to kill their own families, who will be attacking us once they are
geased
?”

“There must be something we haven't tried,” Master Sandiv said.

“We've been experimenting for many ten-­days. We've researched. We've found nothing on waystone magic.”

“Except what Yaoni found in the archives. The scroll he's still deciphering,” Master Tull said.

Master Ursa gestured, and the pieces of the stone pillar Tull had been experimenting on joined together again. “Yes. I have to agree with Tull. That scroll seems to be our only hope.” She tapped the newly formed pillar, and it fell back into pieces. She shook her head. “The oases waystones' very natures have been changed by an energy we don't understand. Our spells can't do that. Our spells do not permanently change rock.”

Abram looked over at Casia and she shook her head. Neither of them had heard of any scroll until now. The masters must have discussed it in private.

“Do you still insist on being the ones to go, if you try to follow its instructions?” Master Gursh asked.

“We must,” Master Tull said firmly. “We are the only ones powerful enough. Mage Bento has volunteered as well.”

Master Sandiv protested, “The scroll could be fake. You'd be risking everything for a tale we can barely read, or are mistranslating. Ursa is vital to controlling the winds and winning the fight in the desert. You cannot go.”

“No one person is vital in this fight,” Master Ursa reproved. “You and your warriors have the training. You will succeed if I'm gone.”

“I wish the One would give us some sign that this is the right path,” Master Gursh growled.

“We have time yet,” Master Ursa said quietly. “The army is not moving. Maybe the One will present another solution before we need to act.”

“Maybe,” Master Tull said, her face bleak. “But I will protect our ­people, whatever it takes.”

“W
hat did Aaron say last time you contacted him?” Evan asked.

Tori and the Descendants had arrived at Stonycreek behind the army of Voras, which surrounded two sides of the town. The other two sides were backed to the cliffs of the foothills. Only a mountain goat could approach from that direction.

Tori's group had abandoned the main road and disappeared into the thick forest when they realized they were getting close to the town. Moving as silently as possible, they'd reached the wide cleared space around the town. Tori, Evan, Sandy, and Shane were lying in thick brush at the edge of the forest, looking down the slight incline to the army below them. Aaron had
farspoken
with Tori several times as Voras's army approached the town and he was able to get a better count of the total fighters the Knight had under his command.

A high stone wall surrounded the town proper, probably built more to keep out wolves and other four-­footed invaders than to hold off an army. Through her spyglass, Tori could see archers on it, guarding the town.

Voras's army was camped on the crops the villagers were growing, out of reach of the archers on the walls. The fighters were tearing down wooden fencing that would keep deer and livestock out of the tender plants, and they were stomping on the vegetables. The village was under siege, but not overrun yet, which matched what Aaron had told Tori the night before. The army had arrived last evening and the Knight had given the Forsaken in the village an ultimatum to surrender and join the army or be taken by force. The Knight didn't want to fight any more than the Forsaken did, and would wait for the towns­people to realize the hopelessness of their situation.

“Looks like we got here before he ran out of patience,” Sandy said.

“They're destroying the crops and killing livestock to demoralize the Forsaken,” Shane said. “The Forsaken know they will starve in the winter if they don't have food to salt and dry. They won't starve if they join the army.”

“It might have worked, if they didn't know we were on the way,” Evan said. “I doubt Aaron and the Forsaken leaders could keep the towns­people from surrendering with the food destroyed and an overwhelming force on their doorstep.”

Sandy looked over at Tori. “What's the plan, oh glorious leader?” he asked.

Tori looked through her glass again.

“The Knight has five soldiers of Voras with him—­which means six
feli
total. Only one soldier and
feli
per squad of fighters,” she said. “The rest of the army are common fighters or pressed Forsaken.”

“The Forsaken are
geased
,” Shane said, and the others stared at him. “What, you don't feel it? It seems obvious to me.”

“Show me,” Tori said, holding out her hand.

He took it, and Sandy grabbed his other hand. Tori closed her eyes and focused on melding energy with him, the way she had the past few evenings when they'd checked in with Aaron Hasifel. It was becoming second nature to link with the twins. Usually she took the lead, but this time, he did. With his guidance, she could see a link between the Forsaken, who made up the bulk of the fighters. She followed the energy as it thickened, braided into a rope connecting to one person. She noted the distance from her, and the seeming location, and opened her eyes.

“The Knight holds the
geas
,” Tori confirmed, looking at the fancy tent. “He's the one we need to take out. We take him out, and any compulsion they feel will disappear.”

“That doesn't mean they'll stop fighting,” Sandy said. “Some might be happier in the army. The
geas
is added insurance for the Knight.”

“But it's Forsaken against Forsaken,” Shane argued. “I think many will choose not to fight their fellows. They may not fight for us, but I think many will flee.”

“Fellows? They don't even know each other,” Sandy said with a snort. “How much fellowship could they have?”

Tori ignored their bickering, conferring with Evan.

“Tell everyone not to kill the soldiers'
feli
,” Tori told Evan, “We don't want to anger the One. Probably best to take the soldiers captive, rather than kill them as well. But we have to take out the Knight.”

“You can't take down the Knight if you don't kill or block his
feli
,” Evan said. “Any Knight of Voras will be a very powerful mage. Even with your training as a Descendant, he's probably more powerful than you are.”

Tori looked over at Zara, lying beside her, alertly gazing out on the army. The great cat turned and looked directly into Tori's eyes and she felt an affirmation, a feeling that the cat understood what she wanted. She looked over at Shane, to see if he'd felt anything.

Shane nodded. “Our
feli
will take care of his,” he told Evan.

“How?” Evan asked.

Shane shrugged. “He doesn't communicate in words. I just know our
feli
are going to block the Knight from channeling Voras through his
feli
.”

Tori could feel that Evan was holding back, uncertain who was in charge. He'd trained his whole life to be the leader of this movement, and now he was shut out because he didn't have a
feli
. He didn't seem to realize they both had essential jobs in this battle. He was a part of the team and she needed him to take action.

She looked directly at him. “Evan, how do you want to attack? Have you organized your fighters yet? I've my own job to do here working the energy. I need you to focus and plan the battle itself.”

Evan looked surprised, then gazed narrowly out on the field. She could see him forming a plan. “I need you to contact Aaron and ask him what fighters they have. You told me Aaron has several experienced Southern fighters under his command as well as some Forsaken guards. His fighters are closest to the Knight's tent, by the walls. Can you tell me when the Knight moves, and where?”

Tori nodded and Evan continued, “There will be some chaos when we attack from the rear. At the same time we attack, a small force from the town should be able to move quickly, killing the Knight while he is still close to or in his tent. They won't expect us to coordinate with the towns­people.”

He pointed to the larger tent. “The biggest obstacle is the Knight linking with his
feli
and blasting the fighters who come after him. Your
feli
are a bit large to slip in unnoticed from the back and kill or disable his before we attack.”

“They can climb in those cliffs behind the town,” Sandy said. “And slip into the town. Once they're in the town, they can attack when the villagers do.”

“You can direct them?” Evan asked. “Impose your will on them?”

Sandy snorted. “We can very nicely nudge them with our minds, show what we want and promise them a tasty sheep if they do it,” he said. “But the choice is theirs.”

“I feel that they will act in accordance to our will, this one time,” Shane said.

Evan nodded. “Then we fight at dusk, when the army is settling in for late meal. You three will stay behind the troops. Can you contain the soldiers who lead the squads? While most of us are magically shielded against hostile energy, we have some Descendants who are only fighters.”

“We can protect them,” Shane said. “I have already sought out the energy of the soldiers and will know if they try to use their
feli
. They are not as strong as the three of us linked together.”

“Good. Contact Aaron; get the townsfolk ready. I'll organize our fighters into smaller strike groups and move them into position around the forest. We will hit many locations on their flank, distracting and disorienting them so that the smaller group from the town has a chance to kill the Knight.”

Several hours later, Tori stood behind the Descendants, on foot with Sandy and Shane. Evan was at the head of his fighters, giving final orders in a quiet, terse voice. Tori had spoken with Aaron several times, relaying information and affirming that the
feli
had arrived in the town.

Tori could feel Zara's tension as she waited for the gates of the town to open and let the
feli
and village troops out. It was strange not having Zara beside her as she prepared for battle, but her role wasn't one of fighter. She and the twins had practiced joining together and blocking. She was confident they could block any magical attacks by the soldiers, but only if they stayed away from the battle and focused.

Voras's troops were wary, ready for any attack from the town. The Descendants had been able to cloak their presence from the sentries and patrols that passed by, so Voras's troops wouldn't be expecting their attack. But Tori was nervous. Anything could go wrong in battle.

Shane reached over and grasped her hand. He gave it a squeeze before taking Sandy's hand. They linked their energy together. As Evan gave the signal and his strike team rode into the back of Voras's army, Tori closed her eyes and mentally searched for the soldiers of Voras, finding their
feli
links. Shane turned his focus to two of the soldiers on the west side, Sandy turned his to the soldier in the middle and the Knight, and Tori took the two on the right side.

A rush of euphoria came from their three
feli
as the great cats streamed out the village gates. As the Descendants attacked the shocked troops from the rear, all attention was turned to the back of the army. The
feli
slipped unnoticed through the tents, tracking the Knight and his
feli
.

“There,” Sandy said. Tori followed his link, seeing the energy shift as a soldier tried an energy strike. They threw up a wall between the energy and the Descendant he was throwing it at. The energy flared briefly against their shields, and Tori winced. It was like getting slapped on the inside of the head.

“Wait,” Shane muttered. Tori was lightheaded as he sucked energy from her, and then he blocked the soldier's link to his
feli
. When the soldier tried again, he couldn't reach the energy.

“Nice shielding,” Tori said. “I thought only a Descendant could do that.”

He didn't have time to answer as another soldier, on the west side, attempted to use his magic, and they blocked it. Again, energy drained from her as Shane blocked the soldier's connection to the
feli
.

A burst of shared pain, not her own. She looked for the source. Their
feli
were fighting the Knight's
feli
and one of them was injured. The battle became a blur as the three Counselors reacted to a multitude of attacks, blocking the soldiers' energy flows or shielding Descendants from blasts. Tori's legs gave out and she sat hard on the ground. The twins settled beside her.

“I didn't realize how much this would take out of us,” Tori gasped, sweat turning cold on her brow. A wave of satisfaction rose from their
feli
. They must have killed the Knight's
feli
.

“It's being without our
feli
,” Sandy said, sounding as exhausted as she did. “They feed us energy from the One. Without them, we're draining our own energy.”

“Another one,” Shane warned.

Before they could turn their attention to the soldier, energy flared, closer to the town walls.

“The Knight,” Shane said. “He must have some natural ability, even without his
feli
to feed it to him.”

“Got him,” Sandy said, through gritted teeth. “I feel what he is doing. Give me energy.”

Tori fed him all she had, and Shane bolstered them. Sandy wove a net around the Knight, holding his energy in. Tori flinched as the man hammered the net with his energy, feeling her skull reverberate with every blow. He was more powerful than any of the three of them alone, but he was also distracted by the physical fight for his life against the Forsaken from the town.